This is what I imagine Peter thinking when Jesus tells Peter to head to deep water and let the nets down, despite the fact that Peter and his partner's have worked all night and haven't caught a thing (Luke 5:4-5). I can relate with the feeling of working long and hard but not being successful. I'm usually closer to the end of my rope and my patience is short. If some non-fisherman told me, a fisherman, to then go back out, I think I'd snap. I'm not sure what enabled Peter to keep his cool; maybe it was out of respect for the traveling rabbi or the words that he'd just heard Jesus speak. Either way, his response to Jesus is both encouraging and challenging: "because you say so, I will".
I know God has asked things of me that don't make sense on the surface: "pull over and see if that person needs help", "ask how that stranger is doing", "get up and write an email to check in on that person", etc. When I'm at my best, I respond to these requests, despite how illogical or inconvenient they seem. I've been thinking this morning about if there's any nudges recently where I haven't given the "because you say so I will" response. The thing that has come to mind is the empty lot on our walk to the bus stop that is becoming a trash heap. In the grand scheme of things, this doesn't seem like that big of the deal, but maybe it's a pre-requisite for hearing other requests. What about for you? What things do you need to do, simply because He asked? Are you listening for them?
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